[Remember-bhopal] VISIT http://www.dowethics.com/bhopal.com/ ALL WEEK

[Dow Chemical Corporation]

March 10, 2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    Contact: mailto:bhopal@dowethics.com
             Anand Vohra (+91 22 5245830)
             http://www.dowethics.com/bhopal.com/

DOW CALLS FOR PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
As historic court hearing approaches, the only site with the real
story remains http://www.dowethics.com/bhopal.com/

This Wednesday, Dow will ask to sue 200 women survivors of the worst
industrial accident in history for a US$10,000 "loss of work" fee.

Last December 2, these survivors of the 1984 Bhopal catastrophe--for
which Union Carbide, later acquired by Dow, was responsible--deployed
themselves outside Dow's Bombay headquarters for a two-hour protest.
As a result, one very important Dow employee exited the building and
spent several minutes of valuable work time in conversation.

During those minutes, the protesting women complained to the employee
that the Bhopal accident site, which has never been cleaned up,
continues to leak mercury, lead and other chemicals into the
groundwater. The women noted that over the years, 15,000 Bhopal
residents have died from such secondary effects of the accident, in
addition to the 5,000 people who died on the spot, and that one Bhopal
resident still dies every day from gas-exposure related diseases. The
survivors asked the employee why Dow, which settled Union Carbide's
asbestos liabilities in the U.S., refuses to settle its liabilities
for Bhopal in India.

The Dow employee, Finance Director Anand Vohra, promised the women
that he would personally recommend "that action should be taken to
alleviate the plight of gas-affected people in Bhopal"--words that led
to cheering, clapping, and deep sighs of relief from the women.

"We're very gratified that we can make people feel better," said Dow
spokeswoman Corvelle Saranex. "But Dow is a business, and we can't
work for free. Otherwise we would be vulnerable to a 'grapevine'
effect, with countless other groups demanding euphoria too. Our
executives would become full-time evangelist cheerleaders."

That is why Dow, valuing the survivors' feelings of relief and
euphoria at US$50 per person, will ask to sue them for US$10,000 all
told in a Bombay courtroom this Wednesday, March 12
(http://www.dowethics.com/bhopal.com/).

Although charging for services rendered is just sound business sense,
some special-interest groups are reporting the lawsuit more cynically.
One enemy website (http://www.bhopal.net/archive/december2002.html)
calls it a "stroke of PR genius," while another
(http://www.greenpeace.org/news/details?item_id=95486&campaign_id=3941)
says it is "stunning."

Only Bhopal.com (http://www.dowethics.com/bhopal.com/) maintains a
level head under fire, presenting Dow's full side of the story with
sobriety, fairness, and modesty. It is therefore incumbent on every
right-thinking civilian to visit http://www.dowethics.com/bhopal.com/
immediately and repeatedly, and to spend as much time there as
possible this week.


Dow Chemical is a chemical products and services company which deploys
a wide range of chemicals to a wide range of customers. Its solutions
for the agriculture, defense, oil, and gas industries include
well-known products like Styrofoam, DDT, and Agent Orange, as well as
lesser-known brands like Quash, Evidence, Prevail, Dowicide,
Eliminator, Papi, and Woodstalk. For more on the Bhopal calamity,
please visit Dow at http://www.dowethics.com/bhopal.com/, or download 
those pages at http://www.thing.net/~rdom/ecd/bhopal.com.zip.

                             # 30 #

   To no longer receive mail from Dow or its subsidiaries, write
   mailto:offlist@dowethics.com?subject=remember-bhopal@lists.essential.org.