Randeep Ramesh's report (2 December) vividly describes how the people of Bhopal in central India are still suffering from the effects of the world's worst industrial accident when deadly methyl isocyanate gas leaked from Union Carbide's pesticides factory 25 years ago, killing thousands both at the time and in the intervening years. According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal, at least 25,000 people to date have died. It is a disgrace that after 25 years the contaminated, disused site has still not been cleaned up, thousands continue to experience severe health problems and survivors have been inadequately compensated.
So why has the US-based Dow Chemical, which owns Union Carbide, been chosen to sponsor the 2010 Live Earth Run for Water event in various cities worldwide? How can it be associated with an event which promotes clean, safe drinking water for all when the Bhopal site still contains about 8,000 tonnes of carcinogenic chemicals that leach into water supplies used by 30,000 people? It is unacceptable for Dow to claim it is not responsible for toxic water being consumed by thousands of people in Bhopal. Who is going to pay for the cleanup? Bhopal survivors deserve justice – medical, economic, social and environmental.