Bhopal gas tragedy

On a December night in 1984, a United Carbide India (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal (Central India) leaked methyl isocyanate gas and other toxic chemicals, resulting in the deaths of thousands of people. Many others suffered from permanent disabling injuries, and still more continued to die over the course of several years from the harmful effects of the chemicals. 

The plant also dumped toxic waste, which contaminated the ground water in surrounding areas. Over 40,000 people depend on this ground water for drinking. The contamination continues today, endangering the health of the surrounding population. Countless children in the region are born with deformities and mental disabilities due to the effects of these poisons.

The Indian government sought damages worth $3 billion from UCIL's parent company Union Carbide, but Union Carbide was only willing to pay $350 million for the victims. After a lengthy court battle, an out-of-court settlement was reached for $470 million. However, criminal cases continued against the executives of the company. These executives, even after repeated summonses, refused to appear in court, forcing Indian courts to declare them fugitives. The company continues to maintain its stand that there was no operational negligence and the disaster was the result of a sabotage.

Union Carbide was bought by Dow Chemicals in 2000. Dow has refused to assume any liability for the tragedy, citing that it did not have any ownership stake in the company involved until 16 years after the incident.

Indians sensitive to Dow's sponsorship at Olympics

The Indian Olympic Association is pressuring the London Olympic Games Committee to drop Dow from its list of sponsors as it conflicts with the Olympic's focus on ethics and sustainability. However, this is unlikely to happen, as almost all stakeholders agree that Dow was in no way connected to the tragedy. The opposition from India, too, seems half-hearted as the country conducted business with Dow while hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2010. Dow continues to have some small operations in India.

While we don't expect anything to come of this issue, the market is still aware of Dow's possible vulnerability. In 2004, a prankster claiming to be a Dow representative told World News that Dow had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion. Immediately afterward, Dow's share price fell 4.2% in 23 minutes -- a loss of $2 billion in market value.