- Playing
- Bhopal 25 years on - Dr. Suroopa Mukherjee
- From
- Claudia Cragg
The Bhopal disaster - or 'Bhopal gas tragedy' - took place at a Union Carbide pesticide plant in the Indian city of Bhopal in the state of Madya Pradesh. At midnight on 3 December 1984, the plant accidentally released methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas, exposing more than 500,000 people to MIC and other chemicals. The first official immediate death toll was 2,259. Others estimate 8,000-10,000 died within 72 hours and 25,000 have since died from gas-related diseases. The deaths go on.
Some 25 years after the gas leak, 390 tonnes of toxic chemicals abandoned at the Union Carbide plant continue to pollute the ground water in the region and affects thousands residents of Bhopal who depend on it.
There are currently civil and criminal cases related to the disaster ongoing in the United States District Court, Manhattan and the District Court of Bhopal, India against Union Carbide, now owned by Dow Chemical Company, with arrest warrants pending against Warren Anderson who was CEO of Union Carbide at the time of the disaster.
Dr Suroopa Mukherjee PhD is an academic and activist at The Hindu College of Delhi University who has worked closely with victims and has spearheaded the 'We for Bhopal' movement.
More from Claudia Cragg
Andrew Lam, 'Perfume Dreams', 'East Eats West'
(26:26)
From: Claudia Cragg
The Vietnamese-American author on his work and on Human Trafficking
Author Jean Kwok on Sweatshops, Legal Immigrants, 'The American Dream' and 'Girl In Translation' ...
(21:28)
From: Claudia Cragg
Kwok's debut novel 'Girl in Translation' became a New York Times bestseller. It has been published in 15 countries and chosen as the winner of an American Library Association ...
Rye Barcott, TED fellow, former Marine, 'It Happened on the Way to War'
(27:48)
From: Claudia Cragg
Rye Barcott, ' Chasing the Mad Lion' (Kibera, the US Armed Forces and the "Catalytic Power of Participatory Development"
Dr Helen Caldicott: NO safe levels of radiation, NO safe levels of food radionuclides
(13:09)
From: Claudia Cragg
THIS IS AN UPDATE dated 1 April 2011 from Dr. Helen Caldicott, physician, paediatrician, and author of 'Nuclear Is Not The Answer' on the current situation in Japan.
Asma Jahangir - Pakistan, the Rule of Law and the NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance)
(25:07)
From: Claudia Cragg
Asma Jahangir is the Chair of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and a special 'rapporteur' for the UN on Freedom of Religion and Beliefs. She has denounced a Supreme ...
T. R. Reid on "The Healing of America"
(29:33)
From: Claudia Cragg
A global quest for better, cheaper and fairer health care
'Holy Roller', Diane Wilson, From Fundamentalist to Activist
(28:01)
From: Claudia Cragg
If only all of us were so 'Unreasonable' - her first memoir...
Write a true life story for Field Report and win $250K ?
(06:16)
From: Claudia Cragg
Online venture seeks revolution in publishing industry
Burma 08 08 1988 -- 20 Years On
(23:07)
From: Claudia Cragg
The life of Burmese refugees in Northern Thailand
Isabel Allende on Pinochet, Politics, Love and Death
(24:20)
From: Claudia Cragg
Isabel Allende on Pinochet, Politics, Love and Death
Related Pieces
Piece Description
The Bhopal disaster - or 'Bhopal gas tragedy' - took place at a Union Carbide pesticide plant in the Indian city of Bhopal in the state of Madya Pradesh. At midnight on 3 December 1984, the plant accidentally released methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas, exposing more than 500,000 people to MIC and other chemicals. The first official immediate death toll was 2,259. Others estimate 8,000-10,000 died within 72 hours and 25,000 have since died from gas-related diseases. The deaths go on.
Some 25 years after the gas leak, 390 tonnes of toxic chemicals abandoned at the Union Carbide plant continue to pollute the ground water in the region and affects thousands residents of Bhopal who depend on it.
There are currently civil and criminal cases related to the disaster ongoing in the United States District Court, Manhattan and the District Court of Bhopal, India against Union Carbide, now owned by Dow Chemical Company, with arrest warrants pending against Warren Anderson who was CEO of Union Carbide at the time of the disaster.
Dr Suroopa Mukherjee PhD is an academic and activist at The Hindu College of Delhi University who has worked closely with victims and has spearheaded the 'We for Bhopal' movement.
Broadcast History
Aired on KGNU 88.5FM, 1390AM, streaming live on www.kgnu.org on 'Metro' News Magazine (3 - 3:30 pm) 18 Nov 2009
Related Website
