Thank you for your comments and, while we may disagree on some points, I hope that some of the facts I included below will provide you with a better perspective on the entire issue since Union Carbide has fulfilled all its moral and legal obligations surrounding the Bhopal tragedy. Unfortunately, most of our actions have either been forgotten or overlooked in the past 25 years.
Most importantly, you should know that Union Carbide continues to have the utmost respect and sympathy for the victims of the tragedy and their families. Union Carbide did all it could to help the victims and their families from Day 1 right up through the settlement with the Indian Government.
Union Carbide provided immediate and continuing aid to the victims and set up a process to resolve their claims. In the days, months and years following the disaster, Union Carbide:
-- Immediately provided approximately $2 million in aid to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund;
-- Immediately and continuously provided medical equipment and supplies;
-- Sent an international team of medical experts to Bhopal to provide expertise and assistance;
-- Offered an initial $10 million to build a hospital in Bhopal; the offer was declined;
-- Provided an additional $5 million to the Indian Red Cross;
-- Established an independent charitable trust for a Bhopal hospital and provided initial funding of approximately $20 million, and
-- Provided about $90 million to the charitable trust for the hospital.
I need to point out that Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) -- not Union Carbide -- owned, managed and operated the Bhopal plant on land leased from the Madhya Pradesh State Government. In 1994, Union Carbide sold its entire interest in UCIL to MacLeod Russell (India) Limited, which renamed the company Eveready Industries India Limited. The renamed company continues to exist in India today. Prior to the sale, UCIL completed some $2 million of remediation work at the site under the direction of the Indian central and state governments. In 1998, the Madhya Pradesh State Government revoked Eveready Industries' lease on the site, took possession of the facility, and assumed all accountability for the site, including the completion of any further remediation.
Dow acquired Carbide in 2001 -- 7 years after UCIL became Eveready Industries and more than 10 years after Carbide, UCIL and the Government agreed to the $470 million settlement. Carbide never owned or operated the UCIL plant site and there were no liabilities for Dow to inherit through Carbide on the Bhopal issue. Any efforts by activists’ and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to attach responsibility/liability for the site clean up under the "polluter pays" principle are, therefore, misdirected. If the court responsible for directing clean-up efforts ultimately applies the principle, it would seem that legal responsibility would fall to Union Carbide India Limited or its successor.
Regarding any site contamination, while we are aware of conflicting claims being made by various groups and reported in the media, we have no first-hand knowledge of what chemicals, if any, may remain at the site and what impact, if any, they may be having on area groundwater. There are a number of reports issued by India's National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Greenpeace, the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board and the National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH), which have divergent or varied comments regarding contaminates in groundwater samples.
Are you aware that -- in a surprising turn of events that has not received a great deal of attention -- some Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and activists have repeatedly blocked remediation attempts? Those who offered to help raise funds for cleanup or conduct pro-bono remediation have had activist groups and NGOs protest against them. And, the Madhya Pradesh state government has seen implementation of its remediation plan tied up in public interest litigation. We just don't understand why do the very people who claim to have dedicated their lives to helping the people of Bhopal continue to block efforts to clean up the site?
The groundwater issue at the Bhopal site is best addressed by the State Government of Madhya Pradesh, which owns the site and is responsible for clean-up activities. Our understanding is that the Central and State governments have plans for site clean up and we’re hopeful they will follow through with their remediation plans, including addressing concerns about groundwater.
Union Carbide’s responsibility - along with the rest of the chemical industry - is to work hard every day to prevent a tragedy like this from ever happening again
You also may be interested that Indian Prime Minister Singh noted on Dec. 3 in a statement on his website: "I reaffirm our Government's commitment to resolving issues of safe drinking water, expeditious clean up of the site, continuation of medical research, and any other outstanding issues connected with the Bhopal Gas Tragedy." His entire statement may be read at http://pib.nic.in/release/rel_print_page.asp?relid=55020
For additional information our Union Carbide's efforts, please visit our website -- www.bhopal,com
Best regards,
Tomm F. Sprick
Director
Union Carbide Information Center
