Carbide Criminal found

[Guest guest]

Folks:

I am not sure if this is the bast place to post it but will be of

interest to some (rest of u'll- sorry), esp to follow up w/

authorities and Lawmakers

 

Sam Rao

******************

 

http://www.greenpeace.org/news/details?news_id=23872

 

Carbide Criminal found

 

Thu 29 August 2002

UNITED STATES/New York State

 

Warren Anderson, former Union Carbide CEO at

the time of the world's worst industrial disaster in

Bhopal, India in 1984, has been found living a life of

luxury in New York State. He is wanted in India to

face charges of culpable homicide over the deaths

of 20,000 people since the disaster.

 

Anderson has been hiding in the US since an

explosion at his company's plant in Bhopal, India,

caused the immediate deaths of thousands of

people and has resulted in life long suffering for

almost 120,000 survivors.

 

We paid Anderson a visit at his US home and

handed him an arrest warrant. He was tracked down

in a matter of weeks by a UK newspaper. He has

been facing charges of culpable homicide and an

extradition order from the government of India for the

past eleven years. He has never appeared in court

to face charges for crimes in Bhopal or even to

explain why his company did not apply the same

safety standards at its plant in India that it operated

at a sister plant in the US state of West Virginia.

 

Our campaigner in the US, Casey Harrell personally

visited Mr. Anderson at his luxury home where he

refused to comment on the disaster. " If a team of

journalists and Greenpeace managed to track down

India's most wanted man in a matter of days, how

seriously have the US authorities tried to find him all

these years? The US has reacted swiftly on curbing

the financial corporate crimes of Enron and

WorldCom, but has clearly not made much of an

effort to find Anderson, responsible for the deaths of

20,000 people in India, " said Casey.

 

On the night of the disaster, when an explosion at

Union Carbide's pesticide plant caused 40 tonnes

of lethal gas to seep into the city of Bhopal, six safety

measures designed to prevent a gas leak had either

malfunctioned, were turned off or were otherwise

inadequate. In addition, the safety siren, intended to

alert the community should an incident occur at the

plant, was turned off.

 

Union Carbide responded to the disaster by paying

survivors inadequate compensation and

abandoning the plant, leaving tonnes of dangerous

toxic chemicals strewn around the site and the

people of Bhopal with a toxic legacy that is still

causing injury today. In 2001, the company shed its

name by merging with Dow Chemical.

 

Calling on both governments to act swiftly, Ganesh

Nochur, of Greenpeace in India stated, " Now that

Anderson's address is known, India must

immediately and formally push for his arrest and

extradition on charges of culpable homicide. In

return, Greenpeace demands that the US honour

this request, per the two nations' extradition

agreement. Anderson and the rest of Union Carbide,

now Dow Chemical, should take responsibility for

their crimes in Bhopal. "

 

In South Africa activists from 15 countries

highlighted pollution from a Dow manufacturing

plant just a few kilometres from the site of the Earth

Summit. While Dow does nothing to help the

survivors of the Bhopal disaster it also continues to

pollute the environment, with toxic and cancer

causing chemicals, where it considers the pollution

will not be noticed.

 

At the Earth Summit, Greenpeace together with other

groups are urging governments to commit to laws

on corporate responsibility in order to stop the

widespread abuse of the environment and human

rights by multinational corporations. However the

same multinationals are out in force at the summit

to try to ensure that there are no new rules just nice

voluntary agreements where corporations can say

how 'responsible' they are, but face no penalties if

they fail to comply. Will voluntary measures will stop

Dow polluting South Africa?

 

More:

 

Read the Mirror news report and feature 'Bhopal

Victims: We are Forgotten.'

 

View the three part slideshow on the Bhopal

disaster:

 

Part One - Immediate aftermath and the tragic

effects of an avoidable disaster.

 

Part Two - Devastating effects on local people still

suffering almost 18 years later.

 

Part Three - Suffering but not in silence- Will Dow

listen to calls to clean up Bhopal?

 

Act:

 

You can help make Dow take responsible for their

crimes, write to Dow and tell them to clean up their

act.