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07/19/2004:
"Indian Court Orders Release of Gas Leak Compensation"
by David Rohde NY TimesNEW DELHI, July 19th — Ending a long legal struggle for victims of a catastrophic gas leak in Bhopal, India, that killed at least 5,000 people in 1984, India's Supreme Court ruled today that $330 million in compensation should be distributed directly to the victims and no longer held by the Indian government.
The leak at a plant run by the Union Carbide Corporation was one of the worst industrial accidents in history, immediately killing 3,000 people and injuring 105,000. Indian officials are still pursuing criminal charges against the company's then-chairman, Warren Anderson, who is now in his early 80's living a low-profile retirement on Long Island and in Florida.
Victims hailed today's ruling but said the company, which is now part of Dow Chemical, should be forced to quadruple the amount of damages it has paid. At the time the compensation was paid in 1989, the figure was based on the 3,000 people who perished immediately and 105,000 injured. full article
