Les pathologies des victimes sont directement liées à l'usine Union Carbide, rachetée par Dow Chemical, géant de la pétrochimie (il avait d'ailleurs procuré de la dioxine lors de la guerre du Viet Nam, à l'origine de malformations congénitales semblables chez les enfants oranges...):
- la première génération a subi les effets toxiques du gaz échappé de la cuve 610. Une meilleure gestion de l'usine et de son fonctionnement auraient pu éviter la catastrophe, de même qu'un entretien régulier et qu'une maintenance des systèmes de sécurité...
- la deuxième génération aurait été en partie épargnée par un nettoyage du site, ce que n'ont jamais voulu mettre en place les 2 géants industriels que sont Union Carbide et Dow Chemical.
[EN] Facts and gas-victims | India | 2008
In 1984, during the night from 2 to 3 December, took place the greatest industrial disaster (to date), about midnight, in Bhopal, capital with of State of Madhya Pradesh. Union Carbide factory producing the Sevin pesticide sees its tank containing 40 tons of M.I.C explode, leaving escape a toxic cloud towards the city. The gas burns eyes and lungs initially, leading to many death by asphyxies: it is estimated that 8000 people died the first week.
The Bhopal disaster gives 2 generations of victims:
- the first generation, exposed to toxic gas released this night of December 3, 1984, and often suffering of respiratory insufficiency, facilitating secondary infections (tuberculosis),
- a second generation, especially exposed to the pesticides given up in the factory, and which was washed by the rains, then contaminating the ground water and thus the drinking water for all the population in the neighbourhoods of the factory.
The origins of the disaster are multiple:
- from the start, very bad choice in the method of production of the Sevin pesticide, obliging with storage in tanks of tens of tons of very dangerous products like the M.I.C.,
- an over-estimate of the sales, and thus of capacities of the tanks
- an semi-abandonment of the factory, left with decrepitude, and without monitoring/replacement of the security systems:
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- panic of the pressure pick-ups of gases in the tanks: been unaware of,
- cooling system of the tanks: nonoperational,
- tower of neutralization of gases in the event of overpressure: non functionnal,
- turn to burn gases escaping in the event of overpressure: nonoperational…
1984-2009: 25 years that people die every day: one estimates at 25.000 the number of died since the catastrophe… and chair of Union Carbide was still not judged… Dow Chemical (which repurchased Union Carbide) has never accepted to take its responsabilities and to clean up the site of the plant.
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