On this day, 2 December 1984, the world’s worst industrial disaster took place in Bhopal, India, when the Union Carbide chemical plant leaked poisonous gases to five million people, killing, blinding and disabling tens of thousands. The crumbling plant had no health and safety measures. The chief executive responsible, Warren Anderson, went unpunished, and of the $470 million compensation paid to the Indian government, only a small fraction made its way to the victims and their families: an average of $500 each. Those exposed continue to die prematurely today, and children continue to be born with disproportionately high incidences of birth defects, cancers and chronic illnesses.
Pictured: placard with some of the victims https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1867136760138132/?type=3