Abstract

To Union Carbide, Life is Cheap

A decade has passed since the Carbide pesticide factory of Union Carbide Corp. spewed more than forty tons of lethal methyl isocyanate gas into slums of Bhopal, killing, according to recent government figures, more than 6,600 people and injuring well over 70,000, who continue to suffer. In the intervening years, the disaster's impoverished victims have waged an unrequited struggle for justice, but they have been ill served by the Indian government, which failed to pursue victims' case aggressively in court there, opting instead to go easy on Carbide in order to maintain a favorable investment climate. Carbide, the party responsible for deaths of thousands of men, women and children, settled out of court for a paltry $470 million, thus avoiding any damaging legal precedent or liability.