January 31, 2009

Deadline for disposing UCIL waste THE Madhya Pradesh High Court on December 16 issued fresh directions to dispose the toxic waste lying at the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal. The waste is to be incinerated at the waste treatment site in Ankleshwar industrial area of Gujarat. The court directed the Gujarat government to dispose the hazardous waste by January 31, 2009.

Exposing Dow

In October activists of the International Campaign for Justice for Bhopal issued an advertisement in the brochures of the India Chem exhibition. But the advert was issued in the name of Clean Chemistry Council, a fictitious European public relations firm, offering consultancy to corporations for improving their public image. The ad cited Dow Chemical as a pioneer in charity "with a lot of strings attached". It said that Dow's donation of

Remembering Bhopal

It was a chilly December afternoon and by evening it had turned quite cold But the weather did not deter the 100-odd people who had gathered near Delhi's Jantar Mantar to mark the 24th anniversary of the Bhopal gas disaster. This was one of 67 locations in 15 states where people gathered to mark their solidarity with gas disaster victims.

Fictitious body stings Dow

Activists of the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal played a prank at the chemical export exhibition India Chem to expose the dealings of Dow Chemicals.

Dow in the dumps?

Dow Chemicals may run into trouble with its Indian investments. On August 8, Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizer Ram Vilas Paswan met some of the victims of the Bhopal gas leak disaster at their protest site in New Delhi and promised them action against the company. An empowered committee would be formed within two months to oversee the cleanup work at the Union Carbide site, heavily contaminated still, and to look into the compensation and health issues faced by the victims.

Shareholders, too, complain against Dow

eight shareholders and an institutional investor of Dow Chemicals have complained against the company. In a letter to the us Securities and Exchange Commission, they wrote that action should be taken against the company

Bhopal gas survivors' Delhi march delivers little

the pleas of the 50 survivors of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, who reached Delhi on March 28, are far from being heard. Travelling over 800 km on foot, they came to the capital to remind the prime minister of the promises he made to them two years ago; but their demonstrations made little impact.

Dow to clean up Bhopal site

dow Chemicals has agreed to pay up for cleaning up the site of Union Carbide plant in Bhopal but it wants all legal liabilities of the 1984 disaster removed against them. According to reports, Dow has insisted that their voluntary payment must not be considered an obligation for the disaster but must be seen as a gesture of corporate social responsibility.

Clean-up plan for Union Carbide waste in Bhopal raises concern

the controversial move by the Madhya Pradesh government to incinerate some waste from the the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal has met with stiff opposition. Civil society groups have strongly criticised the plan to take the waste to an incinerator in Gujarat. They say the incinerator at Ankleshwar is badly equipped and the move will merely shift the health hazards and in no way help dispose the toxic chemical waste. Moreover, the move will rid Dow Chemicals--responsible for the waste's disposal--of the responsibility, say the groups. They moved

Tata offers to take up Bhopal gas tragedy liability

THERE is much controversy over the Tata Group--one of India's largest business conglomerates--taking up the responsibility for 'remediation' of the Bhopal gas tragedy site on behalf of the us industrial giant, the Dow Chemical Company.