Current Features
Take Action!

Take Action! Urge Dow's new CEO to stop Mad Dow's Disease


Dow: Life Poisoned Daily. Send this to a friend

In the News...

Bhopal Express poster

PDF icondownload the poster

Greenpeace cordially invites you to attend a screening of the feature film, Bhopal Express at Visions Theatre in Washington, D.C.

Bhopal Express is a human drama set against the gas tragedy in Bhopal, India. This moving film tells the story of the world's worst industrial disaster through the eyes of a newlywed couple and examines the irresponsible practices of large corporations and the effects of their actions on common people.

When : January 14th, 2003
Cost : $7.50
Time : 7pm
Where: Visions Theatre, 1927 Florida Ave NW, Washington DC

Since 1984 at least 20,000 people have died and thousands continue to suffer from exposure-related diseases. Greenpeace is working with the local survivors to pressure Dow Chemical, now owner of Union Carbide, to accept its pending liabilities in Bhopal, clean up the site, provide people with clean drinking water,long-term medical care and full compensation.

This event is sponsored by Greenpeace, DC Indymedia and the Association for India's Development.


Greenpeace, Bhopal Survivors Return Toxic Waste To Dow Chemical

  • Read the press release
  • Real Player logo View video from the action

    Dow fights for its image, but not the victims in Bhopal

  • See story
  • Read story in the New York Times

    Activists Confront Dow CEO Michael Parker at His Home in Midland, Michigan

  • Press Release
    View Video

    You will need RealPlayer to view the video. Download free from Real.com

    Investors Urge Dow Chemical To Take Responsibility For Bhopal Disaster (Dec 4)

  • Press Release

    Digvijay Singh Apologises For Police Brutality, Drops All Charges Against Activists (Dec. 3)

  • Press Release

    Adobe PDF icon Read Greenpeace's letter to the Ambassdor of India

  • Press Release

  • View Video

    Bhopal Activists Confront Dow Chemical CEO Michael Parker
    (23 October 2002)

    Greenpeace Gets Corporate Criminal Warren Anderson on Tape at Long Island Home
    (29 August 2002)

    Greenpeace Welcomes Indian Court Ruling on U.S. Corporate Criminal, Warren Anderson
    (28 August 2002)

    U.S. woman scales a 90 foot tower at Dow Chemical's Seadrift plant.

  • The Dow Chemical Company, with annual sales exceeding $30 billion U.S., is the largest chemical manufacturing company in the world. Despite being one of the richest companies on the planet, Dow has done little to be a good steward of the environment. Dow's environmental track record includes the original manufacturing and distribution of now highly restricted or banned (in the United States) chemicals such as DDT, Agent Orange, Dursban (pesticide) and asbestos.

    Dow's ascension to the top of the worldwide list of chemical producers comes partially as a result of their recent purchase of Union Carbide, whose merger with Dow was completed on February 6, 2001. In acquiring Union Carbide's assets, Dow also assumed responsibility for Union Carbide's liabilities. These liabilities include Union Carbide's negligent role in the worst chemical spill in history.

    The Disaster in Bhopal

    On the night of December 2nd, 1984, over 40 tons of lethal methyl isocyante (MIC) gas spilled out from Union Carbide's pesticide factory in Bhopal, India. With safety systems either malfunctioning or turned off, an area of 40 square kilometers, with a resident population of over half a million, was soon covered with a dense cloud of MIC gas. People woke in their homes to fits of coughing, their lungs filling with fluid. In the span of the first three days after the accident, over 8,000 people died in Bhopal, mainly from cardiac and respiratory arrest.

    Since the disaster, over 20,000 people have died from exposure-related illnesses, and of the approximately 520,000 people exposed to the poisonous gases, an estimated 120,000 remain chronically ill.

    Justice in Bhopal

    Justice has eluded the people of Bhopal for over 17 years. Union Carbide negotiated a settlement with the Indian Government in 1989 for $470 million US, a total of $370 to $533 per victim, a paltry sum that is too small to pay for most medical bills. In 1987, a Bhopal District Court charged Union Carbide officials, including then CEO Warren Anderson, with culpable homicide, grievous assault and other serious offences. In 1992, a warrant was issued for Anderson's arrest.

    Dow, since its merger with Union Carbide, has refused to assume these liabilities in India, despite the fact that over 20,000 people in vicinity of the Union Carbide factory continue to be exposed to toxic chemicals through groundwater and soil contamination. This stands in stark contrast to Dow's acceptance of Union Carbide's liabilities in Texas, where they recently settled an asbestos-related lawsuit.

    Images from Bhopal

    images from Bhopal
    View photo gallery.
    Nothing tells the story of Bhopal more clearly than images of the people who live there. This photo exhibit by Raghu Rai, commissioned by Greenpeace, gives insight into the devastation wrought on the people of Bhopal.

    "What I saw was to change my life," said Rai. "It was an unprecedented scene of chaos. What startled me most was the silence of death. Thousands of people had already died; thousands more than died in the 11 September attack on the World Trade Centre. I vowed then and there to continue my work, to do all I could to show the world what happens to people when corporations are not held liable for their operations, when they are allowed to cut costs and safety standards when they operate abroad."

    Warning: Some of these images may not be suitable for children. Viewer discretion is advised.

    Greenpeace and Coalition of Survivor Groups in Bhopal Demand that Dow Chemical:

  • assume liability for the continuing and long-term health impacts of the disaster, including release of unpublished medical reports on the toxicity of leaked gases

  • assume liability for the loss of livelihood caused as a result of the disaster by providing income opportunities to victims and support to those rendered destitute

  • remove the contamination of the ground water and soil in and around the factory

  • ensure that prime accused Warren Anderson, former chairman of Union Carbide, is brought to justice in the Bhopal criminal court, along with authorized representatives of the company

    Greenpeace is part of a coalition, AaCcTt:Bhopal, that is composed of the Bhopal-based organizations Bhopal Gas Affected Women Stationary Workers Association, Bhopal Gas Affected Pensioners Association, and Bhopal Group for Information and Action and their allies: Bhopal Action Resource Center, CorpWatch, National Campaign for Justice in Bhopal and The Other Media. The campaign is also supported by the Ecology Center of Michigan, Environmental Health Fund, Environmental Health Watch, Pesticide Action Network, Essential Action and the Center for Health, Environment and Justice.

    Bhopal Survivors Bring Their Demands to Dow CEO at Annual Shareholders Meeting


    May 9th demonstration at Dow's annual shareholders meeting.
    (c) 2002 Jim West/Greenpeace
    A delegation of survivors of the Bhopal chemical disaster held a press conference before Dow Chemical's annual shareholders meeting on May 9th. The survivors joined Midland residents to urge the company to address the environmental and health problems that still afflicts the Indian community and to seek a commitment that the company will work to prevent future disasters at all Dow facilities.

    Find out more from the press release, Survivors of Bhopal Deadly Chemical Disaster Overshadow Dow Annual Meeting

    The Bhopal Delegation included:

    Dr. H. H. Trivedi, former Professor of Internal Medicine at the Gandhi Medical College in Bhopal, was the only senior doctor attending to patients at the Hamidia Hospital on the night of the disaster. He continues providing care to ailing survivors to this day with special emphasis on pulmonary diseases. He is one of the trustees of the Sambhavna Trust.

    Satinath Sarangi (c) 2002 Jim West/Greenpeace
    Mr. Satinath Sarangi, an administrator at the Sambhavna Clinic and Research Center. Mr. Sarangi has been involved in supporting the Bhopal activists since the day of the disaster in 1984. He is the administrator of the only clinic in Bhopal specifically designed to address the long-term health impacts of the Bhopal survivors. The Sambhavna Clinic offers a unique combination of Allopathic, Ayurvedic and yoga treatments to patients. Mr. Sarangi was a member of the first Bhopal delegation to come to the United States in 1989, where he attended the Union Carbide shareholders meeting.

    Greenpeace Demonstrations Support Bhopal Survivors


    Delhi, India, July 10th, 2002
    © 2002 Greenpeace/Raghu Rai

    Washington DC, July 10th, 2002
    © 2002 Greenpeace/Laura Lombardi
    The Washington Post reports July 7th: India Seeks to Reduce Charge Facing Ex-Union Carbide Boss

    Greenpeace joins survivors of the Bhopal gas disaster to protest moves by the Indian government to reduce homicide charges against Warren Anderson, former Union Carbide CEO, to negligence. Anderson has been accused of crimes in Bhopal but has been in hiding in the United States ever since. Find out more.


    Washington DC, June 12th, 2002
    © 2002 Greenpeace/Lindsay Reynolds
    On June 12th, 2002, Greenpeace and coalition members met outside an awards ceremony in Washington DC, where Dow was awarded a National Medal of Technology Award. The demonstrators called on Dow to clean the abandoned factory site, provide long term medical and economic assistance to survivors, and face criminal liability charges as owners of Union Carbide, the company responsible for the deadly gas leak. Find out more.

    Brazil, May 8th, 2002
    © 2002 Greenpeace/Rodrigo Petterson
    Over 20 Greenpeace activists and members of ACPO, a Brazilian association against POPs (Persistent Organic Pollutants) and fishermen from UNIPESQ, the Union of the Fishers of Conceicaozinha, in Guaruja, Brazil, staged a ceremony dedicated to the thousands of victims in Bhopal. The ceremony took place in front of the Dow Chemical headquarters, in Sao Paulo. The entrance of the building was covered by flowers, symbolizing the victims of the accident. A banner was hung showing the number of victims of Bhopal's accident and a message asking, "Until when, Dow?"

    Take Action Online

    Send an email and fax and tell Dow's new CEO to Stop Mad Dow's disease

    Learn More

    Chemical Stockpiles In Bhopal

    Read Greenpeace's August 16 letter to the State Department.

    At the June 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Bali, Greenpeace unveiled Bhopal Principles, a sustainable international policy alternative to curb rampant corporate irresponsibility.

    PDF icon Corporate Crimes: The need for an international instrument on corporate accountability and liability (2002 report) (682 KB)

    PDF icon Dow: Life Poisoned Daily (factsheet)

    PDF icon Bhopal: Continuing the Fight for Health and Justice (factsheet)

    PDF icon The Bhopal Legacy (report)

    PDF icon Dow Chemical, Preliminary Bibliography (Pesticide Action Network North America, 2002)

    Dow Brand Dioxin (report)

    PDF icon Dow: Myths and Realities (the truth behind Union Carbide's website on the Bhopal accident)

    Links

    Greenpeace Correspondence with Dow:

    PDF icon letter to Dow (May 6, 2002)

    PDF icon letter from Dow (May 2, 2002)

    PDF icon letter to Dow (April 15, 2002)

    PDF icon letter from Dow (March 1, 2002)

    PDF icon letter to Dow (February 19, 2002)

    PDF icon letter to Dow (December 3, 2001)

    PDF icon letter to Dow (March 20, 2001)

    Greenpeace holds protests against Dow around the world. (December 3, 2001)



  • What's New Other Resources Archives Online Store Site Map Credits Search Feedback