Union Carbide Officials Convicted In 1984 Bhopal Gas Disaster

Eight former executives of the Indian subsidiary of the U.S. chemical giant, Union Carbide, have been found guilty of negligence for failure to prevent a toxic gas leak that killed thousands of people in the city of Bhopal in 1984. The eight senior officials received two-year prison sentences and were fined 10,000 rupes ($2,100). One of the defendents is no longer alive. The verdict comes more than a quarter-century after a poisonous gas, methyl isocyanata, spread from a Union Carbide pesticide plant to nearby slums, killing roughly 3,000 people almost immediately. Thousands more eventually died from the effects of the gas. While the verdict represents the first criminal convictions in the case, victim groups called the decision far too lenient. Sati Nath Sarangi, a victims’ advocate, described the outcome as “the world’s worst industrial disaster reduced to a traffic accident.” Overall, about 578,000 people were affected by the gas leak, according to government records. Union Carbide paid $470 million in a settlement to victims, an average of about $550 per person.