Satinath Sarangi

The Bhopal gas tragedy: Toxic legacy

Sanjay Yadav, Satinath Sarangi, Jeevan Shinde, Hajira B.

On December 2, 1984, a toxic gas leak at the American-operated Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India, killed thousands and left 570,000 people with chronic health disorders, while groundwater contamination persists three decades later. Although Union Carbide settled for $470 million, victims and advocates argue the compensation is inadequate given the scale of permanent injuries and the parent company Dow Chemical's refusal to accept liability. Current efforts by Indian authorities to revise death statistics and expand compensation face criticism from groups like the Sambhavna Trust, which reports that 93% of affected individuals are incorrectly categorized with only temporary injuries.