40 Years of Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster - A Discussion

2024 marks the 40th anniversary of the Bhopal gas leak disaster, which remains the worst industrial disaster in history. For nearly four decades, gas-exposed communities in Bhopal, the capital of the state of Madhya Pradesh in India, continue to face significantly higher mortality rates, various diseases, neurological disorders, and two generations of birth defects. Today, well over 150,000 people in Bhopal are battling chronic illnesses that are related to their own exposure or that of their parents, and 500,000 lives remain physically and economically harmed from the disaster.

On September 20, at 12 pm, members of the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal (ICJB) seek to facilitate crucial knowledge exchange between their lived experiences and the academics and practitioners of community and public health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The two survivors who will participate in this seminar, Farhat Jahan and Bati Bai Rajak, were children at the time of the disaster. While they and their families were directly exposed to methyl isocyanate, their testimonies go beyond personal experience of the disaster. Both have been heavily engaged in efforts to provide free-of-cost medical care through the Sambhavna Health Clinic in Bhopal, conduct research on groundwater contamination and continuing health disparities faced by the gas-exposed population, and lead advocacy efforts towards accountability for, and clean-up of, the disaster. Rachna Dhingra, a community activist, who is involved with ICJB and Sambhavna Clinic will also present about the chemical disaster event. They will present an account of how gas-exposed communities in Bhopal have persisted for 40 years, treating illness and documenting the continued environmental pollution and damage to health faced in their communities. We hope that this seminar will help to develop more support in communities across the US, both leading up to and after the 40th anniversary on December 3rd, 2024.

Bhopal has widespread implications for the petrochemical industry, as well as the international framework for human rights, environmental regulation, and accountability for multinational corporations. The shock of this disaster galvanized fenceline communities in the US into advocating for ‘Right to Know’ laws which give residents information about the toxic chemicals being emitted into their neighborhoods. This grassroots mobilization led to the passage of the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act of 1986, for the first time requiring both states to develop emergency plans for chemical disasters, and petrochemical facilities to provide emergency notifications during accidents as well as an annual toxic release inventory (TRI) report of routine toxic emissions at chemical facilities.

We are also asking those who participate in the event to think about how this can be used as a starting point for future solidarity work for justice in Bhopal, and how the struggle in Bhopal connects to local struggles for environmental justice, corporate accountability and people’s right to health in the US and globally.

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