For seven days I traveled with Rachna, Sarita and Saafreen on the Midwest leg of the 2009 Bhopal Survivors Tour. It was fabulous spending time with them. Please see here for more info. They gave presentations in Bloomington IN, Dayton OH, Cleveland OH, Pittsburgh PA, and then . . .

May 1: 227 miles south of Pittsburgh we arrive at Charleston West Virginia and a suburb, Institute. This one is radically different, no longer an intellectual interest. We are here because there is a similar although larger plant storing methyl isocyanate (the gas that leaked in Bhopal – see here for the history of the disaster).

Maya, our coordinator, is one of the main forces behind the group, People Concerned About MIC. She takes us to Senator Byrd's office where we meet senior executive Ann Barth, who is clearly moved by the girls' story. I learn that in Institute there is a huge Bayer CropScience plant, originally owned by Union Carbide. Spreading over 400 acres, it's a disaster waiting to happen: they store 100 tonnes of MIC. There have been 3 near-misses – 7 months after the Bhopal disaster (1985), in 1993, and then on August 28 2008, when an explosion narrowly missed the MIC tanks. You can read more about it here.

After dropping off our bags at our host's, Geeta, a pediatrician working with kids with autism, we head out to tour the plant site's perimeter. Bayer CropScience Institute Plant is situated along the Kanawha River, with Institute on the north side and St. Albans on the south, a potentially really beautiful area. The first thing you notice is the smell, a toxic, chemical, overpowering smell. You know it's not good to breathe this, and yet people living around the plant for miles breathe it every day, 24/7. The second obvious visual is that this is a mostly black, poor area.

We start the tour at a big gate, bolted with a very big lock. This is the evacuation route (?!).We also see the West Virginia Rehabilitation Center, where chemical-affected people seem to have to prove that they really want to work in spite of the fact that they might be permanently disabled (West Virginia Rehab Institute).

We drive for miles along the Institute side - the only road going into and out of the area. Huge tanks carrying lethal chemicals chug their way along railway tracks, just a little away from the main road. We cross a bridge to the St. Albans side, where we don't get as good a view, but where the stench is still present and people are definitely at risk. The neighbourhoods depend on the plant for employment, silencing most people. Maya grew up here, her father worked at the plant all his life, and she points out several areas and buildings of interest. Half way through the tour my nostrils are burning.

Earlier that week a Congressional hearing report about the August 2008 explosion was released and there had been a meeting for the community. The report notes that the explosion "likely resulted from significant lapses in chemical process safety management at the plant" (see here). So people in the area come to the Bhopal event to learn what might be their future.

The event at West Virginia State U in Institute, next to the plant, is incredibly moving. Here Bhopal is neither theoretical nor historical. Daily people live with the possibility that there will be yet another accident, and with the stench, not knowing exactly what it does to them, but suspecting much. So people are angry. Many speak out, including Maya (Maya's press statement) and two courageous women, Donna and Sue. All three have grown up in the area, and everyone knows people with cancer; at least one has been diagnosed with a "rare and aggressive" form. There are no known health studies. It is excruciating and very, very real. We are all moved and changed.

By the end of the evening my lungs feel like they've been invaded by toxic chemicals, and as we pack up and leave, I am aware this is a privilege not enjoyed by all.

The next day, May 2, Geeta graciously prepares a delicious brunch; about 15 people come to meet Rachna, Sarita and Saafreen. Everyone lives in the area, but they aren't black and poor. They are interested and impressed with the girls, but don't seem to see it as their issue. They live away from the chemical stench, but not away from the spread of MIC gas should the tanks explode. While they are sympathetic, again it feels theoretical, like we could be in Bloomington, the charming university town.

For me, Institute is why we are doing this. The situation is not unique. All over North America and the world watersheds are knowingly being polluted, tailings ponds leak regularly, and the foul air of chemical factories/mining sites/oil and gas extraction pervade what are supposed to be safe homes. Corporate greed, weak governments, and apathetic people synthesize to create toxic, lethal conditions.

Please join us at
www.bhopal.net
www.bhopal.org
Amnesty International Canada Business & Human Rights group (email business@aito.ca first, though)
or any organization of your choice.
The situation is urgent!
See an amazing speech by Paul Hawken that will inspire!