Bhopal Disaster

Ripple worked with the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal to publicize both the 20th and 25th anniversaries of the chemical disaster, and hold Dow Chemical responsible for the ongoing contamination. In 1984 a Union Carbide pesticide factory explosion killed thousands of people in this Indian city, and today the water and soil around the site is still extremely polluted; generations are suffering from various illnesses; and survivors still have not been compensated for medical costs or loss of livelihood. Dow Chemical, the current owner of Union Carbide, refuses to be held accountable.

As a result of our outreach, the 20th anniversary received significant media attention including stories on CNN, ABC World News Tonight, NPR, the New York Times, Associated Press, Reuters, BBC, San Francisco Chronicle, Democracy Now!, Alternet and many more. We also edited and placed three op-eds: one by Gary Cohen, Executive Director of Environmental Health Fund, in the Boston Globe; one by Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) in New Jersey’s Home News Tribune; and one by Bhopal survivors Rashida Bee and Champa Devi Shukla in the Economic Times of India. For the 25th anniversary, Ripple, along with groups around the world, catapulted this issue into the forefront of public awareness by releasing a study about the ongoing contamination of the groundwater, garnering over 1,200 stories around the world – including the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN and BBC News.

Featured Media Coverage

Watch CNN Clip:

Watch ABC World News Tonight Clip: