Tuesday, November 30, 2004

A Little Methyl Isocynate Can Really Ruin Your Day Posted by Hello


Geez, blogger is even slower than normal today. I've been trying to crank out this post for about an hour--managed to get the pic above posted, then had to waaaiiiit...

Anyway, the above is an actual graphic from a Union Carbide Ad that ran in National Geographic (according to the website Chemical Industry Archives, in 1962). The tag line is a rather ominous statement: "A Hand in Things to Come." No shit.

Amnesty [Internation] found that 7,000 died in the immediate aftermath, and 15,000 more have died of related diseases since 1984. It reveals that 100,000 people still suffer from chronic or debilitating illnesses. "The company decided to store quantities of the 'ultra-hazardous' MIC in Bhopal in bulk, and did not equip the plant with a corresponding safety capacity," the report says.


The above quote is from Justin Huggler from the Independent, writing in Counterpunch. Huggler goes on to note that, 20 years after what Chemical Industry Archives calls "the worst industrial disaster of the 20th Century," most victims are still awaiting settlement. Those who HAVE been compensated received an average of about $550 dollars. Years ago, in a Nation article, one of the victims noted that this was less than the average price paid for a purebred dog.

So much for compassion. Perhaps this also explains why so few folks, particularly on the pro-war side, haven't said a thing about the horrors awaiting those who've been exposed to another danger--depleted uranium aerosols--in Iraq (both Iraqis AND our soldiers). But, I dunno--thinking about the victims can be such a downer out on the golf course...

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