16,000 and Counting…
A fact sheet on the status of victims of the Bhopal Gas Disaster of December 1996 reminds one of the continuing horror of that singular event. The information circular, put out by the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udhyog Sanghatan and Bhopal Group for Information and Action, provides an account of the long-lasting effects of the industrial disaster when over 40 tonnes of deadly Methyl Isocyanate, Hydrogen Cyanide and other gases leaked from "a hazardously designed and recklessly managed" pesticide factory of the multinational Union Carbide. Over half a million adults and children were exposed to the poison clouds, and over six thousand died within the first week of the disaster. According to the fact sheet, the current death toll is well over 16,000 and counting. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) states that nearly one-fourth of the exposed population is chronically ill with diseases of the respiratory, gastro-intestinal, reproductive, musculo-skeletal, neurological and other systems.
There is evidence of a high incidence of cancer, and of genetic defects among the newborn. Medical care has been wholly inadequate for the roughly 4,000 patients who make daily visits to nearby government hospitals, while at the same time there is indiscriminate use of antibiotics, steroids and psychotropic drugs. Because of inadequate public health care, expensive private medical clinics are flourishing. Longterm health monitoring of the Bhopal survivors was abandoned in December 1994.
An estimated 50,000 have been so incapacitated that they have not been able to pursue their regular jobs, says the fact sheet. The government has spent INR 600 million for rehabilitation, but less than 100 people have found jobs through official initiatives. Meanwhile, 380,000 personal injury claims have been awarded an average compensation of INR 23,684, but nearly INR 10,000 of this amount has been routinely deducted against interim monetary relief paid earlier. The remaining money does not cover even half of the medical expenses borne by the claimants in the last several years, let alone provide for future expenses.