Bhopal nocturne
Credit: Bhopal Medical Appeal/flickr

Bhopal nocturne

35 years after the chemical industry's worst accident, have we learned any lessons? A petrochemical buildout along the Ohio River suggests we haven't.

Last week, the 35th anniversary of the chemical industry's worst accident passed with little notice – and little opportunity for lessons learned.


A factory producing methyl isocyanate (MIC), a precursor chemical for the pesticide Sevin, suffered a series of mishaps on the night of December 2, 1984. Several redundant safety systems were broken or turned off, and shortly after midnight, 40 tons of the heat-sensitive chemical vented into the central Indian city of Bhopal, population 1.5 million.

The chemical burned eyes and lungs, blinding or maiming tens of thousands. The official death toll was 3,787. Others put the figure at 8,000 immediate deaths and another 8,000 eventual fatalities. Thirty-five years later, victims of the disaster say they've never received fair compensation from the government, or from the American principal owners of the plant, Union Carbide.

The universal revulsion that followed the Bhopal disaster prompted greater scrutiny of multinationals like Carbide. But we continue to build dangerous facilities in places with lax standards.

Like Texas: Just last week residents in Port Neches and Jefferson County were evacuated after a fire and multiple explosions at a local chemical plant. This comes 6 years after a fertilizer plant in the town of West blew up, leveling much of the small town and killing 15 of its residents. Subsequent investigations by the Dallas Morning News and others revealed a breakdown in safety inspections by both Texas and federal officials.

And like Quebec: Two months after West, a runaway train of 72 crude-oil tanker cars barreled down a hill into the resort town of Lac-Mégantic killing 47. Canada's zeal to become a petro-state was widely blamed for the rail safety failures that led to the disaster.

Just a few years earlier, Barack Obama's election brought high hopes of a reversal of the Bush-Cheney environmental era. But 15 months after his inauguration, Obama announced an easing of restrictions on offshore oil and gas restrictions. He sought to calm enviros' jitters on April 2, 2010, by declaring "oil rigs today generally don't cause spills."

Eighteen days later, the Deepwater Horizon explosion killed 13 workers and caused the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

These are but a few of the missteps and missed opportunities in our often-tragic relationship with our environment. Bhopal was a developing world mass-murder-by-negligence.

This week, EHN carried a story that's a first-world version of the same type of ecocide.

Petrochemicals headed for Ohio River Valley 

Even as the anniversary of Bhopal's searing heartbreak went largely unnoticed, the petrochemical industry was poised to take a great leap backward – turning the industrial carcass of the Ohio River Valley's coal industry into a renewed center for plastics pollution. EHN is part of a consortium of news organizations studying environmental problems in the Valley. This piece by Sharon Kelly details the planned openings of petrochemical plants in Western Pennsylvania.

The facility uses the recently ample supply of fracked gas from the Marcellus Shale patch of Western Pennsylvania to make virgin plastics –delivering a double insult to two global environmental crises. The virgin plastic can also be manufactured cheaper than recycled stock, putting another nail in the coffin of the struggling plastics recycling business

Kelly's reporting spotlighted an environmental crime in progress – one that we're politically unable to stop. Valley communities that have watched coal-burning power plants and steel mills vanish are understandably glad to see new jobs move in.

The rest of us see an opportunity for clean energy forfeited in the name of deepening our plastics pollution problem.

Peter Dykstra is our weekend editor and columnist. His views do not represent those of Environmental Health News, The Daily Climate or publisher, Environmental Health Sciences.

US Capitol dome touched by early morning sun with trees and a path in foreground.

Senate moves to gut clean energy tax credits as deal nears

The Senate was close to passing a sweeping GOP bill Tuesday morning that rolls back renewable energy tax credits, adds a new tax on wind and solar, and boosts fossil fuel development.

Amelia Davidson, Timothy Cama, Nico Portuondo, and Garrett Downs report forE&E News.

Keep reading...Show less
Man holding sign that says Not is not the time for business as usual; climate action now.

UN climate talks face growing backlash over corporate influence and stalled action

More than 200 civil society and Indigenous groups have issued a unified call for major reforms to the United Nations’ global climate negotiations, criticizing decades of slow progress and lack of accountability.

Ryan Krugman reports for Inside Climate News.

Keep reading...Show less
An ocean wave up close with the tip of a mountain visible on one side of the frame.

Climate scientist warns Earth is approaching tipping points that could reshape the planet

Human-driven warming has pushed multiple Earth systems dangerously close to irreversible tipping points, but social and technological momentum could still steer the planet toward recovery.

Jonathan Watts reports for The Guardian.

Keep reading...Show less
A large wildfire burning on the hills above a lake flanked by trees.

Extreme heat and wildfires surge across southern Europe as temperatures break records

A punishing heat wave swept across southern Europe this weekend, forcing evacuations in Greece and pushing several countries into emergency wildfire alerts as temperatures soared past 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

Giada Zampano reports for The Associated Press.

Keep reading...Show less
Feet in sandals stand on stone pavers.

Hotter heat waves are sticking around as the planet keeps warming

A heat dome sent temperatures soaring across the Eastern U.S. last week, part of a growing trend driven by human-caused climate change that’s increasing the frequency and severity of extreme heat events.

Rachel Frazin reports for The Hill.

Keep reading...Show less
Flood waters rising next to house boats.

Rising seas may erase land, but not national identity, legal experts say

Nations facing submersion from rising seas could retain their legal status and maritime rights under international law, according to a new report from the United Nations’ International Law Commission.

Isabella Kaminski reports for The Guardian.

Keep reading...Show less
Equipment pointing toward the sky to communicate with satellites.

Old satellites vital to hurricane tracking will soon stop transmitting data

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) stopped receiving data from key weather satellites on June 30, limiting forecasters’ ability to detect dangerous hurricane intensification in real time.

Rebecca Dzombak reports for The New York Times.

Keep reading...Show less
From our Newsroom
Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.