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Bhopal Gas Tragedy Information

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In the early hours of December 3,1984, methylisocyanate (MIC) gas leaked from a plant owned,
managed and operated by Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) in the central India city of Bhopal.
According to government figures, approximately 5,200 people died and several thousand other
individuals suffered permanent or partial disabilities. Click here to view the 2006 affidavit of the
Union of India in the Supreme Court.
A great deal has been written and/or broadcast about the tragedy in the past 31 years, some of it
factual, but much of it inaccurate or misleading. The information presented on this website is
supported by facts and documentation, and will help those seeking information gain an accurate
and balanced perspective of the Bhopal tragedy and Union Carbide's (UCC) efforts.

Union Carbide Statement Regarding The Tragedy


The 1984 gas leak in Bhopal was a terrible tragedy that continues to evoke strong emotions even
31 years later. In the wake of the gas release, UCC and its then-chairman Warren Anderson
worked diligently to provide aid to the victims and attempted to set up a process to resolve their
claims. All claims arising out of the release were settled in 1989 at the explicit direction and with
the approval of the Supreme Court of India by means of a settlement agreement between the
Government of India (GOI) and UCC and UCIL. In 1991, and again in 2007, the Supreme Court
upheld the fairness and adequacy of the settlement in response to court challenges from nongovernmental organizations.
The Bhopal plant was owned and operated by UCIL, an Indian company in which UCC held just
over half the stock. Other stockholders included Indian financial institutions and thousands of
private investors in India. UCIL designed, built, managed and operated the plant using Indian
consultants and workers. In 1994, UCC sold its entire stake in UCIL to Mcleod Russel India
Limited of Calcutta, and UCIL was renamed Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL). As a result
of the sale of its shares in UCIL, UCC retained no interest in the Bhopal site. With the approval of
the India Supreme Court, the proceeds of the UCIL sale were placed in a trust and exclusively
used to fund a hospital in Bhopal, which now provides specialist care to victims of the tragedy.
Because the government closed off the site from any and all operations following the gas
release, UCIL was only able to undertake clean-up work in the years just prior to the UCC's sale
of its stock in 1994, and spent some $2 million on that effort. The central and state government
authorities approved, monitored and directed every step of the clean-up work. Following the sale,
we understand that EIIL continued some clean-up work. In 1998, the Madhya Pradesh State
Government (MPSG), which owned and had been leasing the property to EIIL -- and still owns
the property today -- cancelled EIIL's lease, took over the facility and assumed all accountability
for the site, including the completion of any additional remediation. The media reported that a trial
incineration of some waste from the Bhopal plant site was conducted in August 2015. For
additional information, please see the page on this site entitled "Remediation (Clean Up) of the
Bhopal Plant Site." Specific questions regarding that work, or any other site remediation work,

are best directed to Madhya Pradesh State Government and/or the Central Pollution Control
Board (CPCB).
Late in 1986, Union Carbide filed a lengthy court document in India detailing the findings of its
scientific and legal investigations into the cause of the gas release. Click here to view the
Jackson Browning Report.
Engineering consulting firm, Arthur D. Little, Inc., conducted a thorough investigation and
reached the same conclusion. Click here to view the Arthur D. Little Report.
Please see "Cause of the Bhopal Tragedy" pages on this website for complete details.
Together with the rest of the chemical industry, Union Carbide has worked to develop and
globally implement Responsible Care to help prevent such an event in the future by improving
process safety standards, community awareness and emergency preparedness, as well as
protecting workers and communities by working with governmental bodies to assure that industry
best practices are implemented through regulations.
For more information about Responsible Care, see www.responsiblecare.com or www.iccachem.org.

Union Carbide's Response to the Tragedy and the Settlement.


In the wake of the release, Union Carbide Corporation publicly accepted moral responsibility for
the tragedy. Details may be found here on the immediate aid Union Carbide provided to the
victims.
Cause of the Bhopal Tragedy.
Details may be found here on Union Carbide's investigation into the tragedy.
History of Union Carbide India Limited
UCIL was a diversified manufacturing company incorporated in 1934. For details on its 60-year
history, please see these pages.
Bhopal Plant History and Ownership
Details on the plant's history and the roles that the MPSG and the India central government
played in its development and operations may be found here.
Remediation (Clean Up) of the Bhopal Plant Site
Details about what remediation UCIL was able to perform and when that work was done, as well
as any work undertaken since the MPSG took control of the site in 1998, may be found here.
Bhopal Litigation in the U.S.
American personal injury lawyers who had gone to Bhopal brought civil litigation in the U.S.
against UCC within days of the disaster. Information on that civil litigation, as well as on the class
action lawsuits subsequently filed, may be found here.
Bhopal Litigation in India
Information on the civil and criminal litigation, as well as on the GOI's curative petition and the
Public Interest Litigation, may be found here.

Environmental Studies of the Bhopal Plant Site


The Bhopal plant closed after the 1984 methylisocyanate (MIC) gas release and never resumed
normal operations. A chronological overview of the various studies undertaken up until 1998,
when the MPSG took control of the site, may be found here.
Reports, Studies, UCC Opinions and Court Decisions
Research reports and court rulings that provide additional information and insight with regard to
the tragedy in Bhopal, India, may be found here.
Contact Information for Bhopal Information Center
Details on how to contact the Bhopal Information Center appear on this page.

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