AN INTER PRESS SERVICE ANALYSIS
NEW DELHI, Dic 02 (IPS) - TEN YEARS AFTER UNION CARBIDE CORPORATION OF THE U.S. INFLICTED THE WORLD'S WORST INDUSTRIAL DISASTER UPON THE PEOPLE OF BHOPAL, THERE ARE SERIOUS DOUBTS WHETHER INDIA'S POLICY-MAKERS HAVE LEARNT ANY LESSONS FROM THE CATASTROPHE AND ITS AFTERMATH.
THE FAMILIES OF THE 3,000 DEAD AND THE 250,000 INJURED BY THE LEAKAGE OF TOXIC GAS FROM THE UNION CARBIDE FACTORY PREMISES ON THE NIGHT OF DEC 2, 1984 FEEL BITTER RESENTMENT FOR THE INJUSTICES THEY HAVE HAD TO FACE, BUT THERE IS ALSO RIGHTEOUS ANGER AND DETERMINATION TO SECURE WHAT IS DUE TO THEM.
THE RECORD IS TRULY DISMAL. IN HUMAN TERMS, THE DISASTER HAS PROVED UNENDING. AT LEAST 50,000 PEOPLE CONTINUE TO SUFFER FROM A HORRIFIC ARRAY OF AILMENTS AND DISORDERS, ACCORDING TO THE LATEST SURVEYS BY THE INDIAN COUNCIL OF MEDICAL RESEARCH (ICMR).
UNOFFICIAL SURVEYS ALSO POINT TO THE PERSISTENT NATURE OF MOST ILLNESS AMONG 43 TO 68 PER CENT OF THE SAMPLE OF VICTIMS. SOME OF THE AILMENTS ARE INCURABLE.
GOING BY ICMR REPORTS, AT LEAST 10 OF THE SYMPTOMS HAVE BEEN PERSISTENT. THESE INCLUDE BREATHLESSNESS, EYE PROBLEMS, MENSTRUAL IRREGULARITIES AND MENTAL DISORDERS. SPONTANEOUS ABORTION RATES IN 1990 WERE THREE TIMES HIGHER AMONG VICTIMS THAN IN UNEXPOSED WOMEN. RESPIRATORY SYMPTOMS WERE THREE TIMES MORE PREVALENT IN 1991 THAN IN 1987.
REGRETTABLY, THE VICTIMS HAVE BEEN DENIED ACCESS TO THEIR OWN MEDICAL RECORDS. THE ICMR HAS FAILED TO PUBLISH THE RESULTS OF SCORES OF SCIENTIFIC STUDIES IT COMMISSIONED ON THE VICTIMS.
8, LEGAL TERMS, THE RECORD IS SHAMEFUL: THE PERPETRATOR OF A HEINOUSLY NEGLIGENT ACT HAS GOT AWAY BY PAYING A PALTRY SUM, WHICH ADDS UP TO LESS THAN TWICE THE SIZE OF ITS INSURANCE COVER. THE 470 MILLION DOLLAR SETTLEMENT REMAINS A DISGRACE.
THERE HAS BEEN NO LEGAL RULING ON LIABILITY. THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA SNUFFED OUT THAT POSSIBILITY. THE HOPE THAT THE LITIGATION WOULD SPUR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LAW OF TORTS HAS BEEN BETRAYED. THE CRIMINAL PROSECUTION OF UCC AND ITS OFFICIALS HAS NOT BEEN PURSUED EFFECTIVELY SO FAR.
AS FAR AS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION GOES, NO LESSONS HAVE BEEN LEARNT. LOCATION POLICIES FOR THE CHEMICALS INDUSTRY HAVE NOT CHANGED EVEN ONE IOTA: STOREHOUSES OF CHEMICAL POISONS CONTINUE
TO BE BUILT AND EXPANDED IN MAJOR INDUSTRIAL CENTRES IN WESTERN INDIA. THE PROMISE OF STRICT REGULATION OF ALL TOXIC CHEMICALS AND AN OUTRIGHT BAN ON SOME REMAINS UNFULFILLED.
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