Bhopal: contaminated well

The chemical industry disaster at Bhopal on 3rd December 1984 killed and injured thousands of people. Yet the gas leak was just the beginning of an ongoing tragedy. More than 17 years later, residents of Bhopal are still suffering injury, not just from the accident but the legacy of contamination left by the chemical industry. Virtually nothing has been done to clean up the site and water used by people for everyday needs is still contaminated.

Toxic contamination

The production of synthetic organic chemicals has exploded since the first world war. There are now an estimated 100,000 different synthetic chemicals in use. The health and environmental effects of many of these remain largely unknown and untested. Of these chemical compounds, Greenpeace has prioritised Persistent Organic Pollutants, or POPs.