Bhopal: The Search for Justice

On December 3, 1984, a cloud of toxic gas escaped from Union Carbide's plant in Bhopal, India, killing thousands (particularly children and the elderly), and causing blindness and long-term lung damage in hundreds of thousands of survivors. While some said workers weren't properly trained, the company claimed the disaster was sabotage, and the plant was never cleaned up or reopened (eventually, toxins seeped into the groundwater, leading to fetal defects and genetic damage). Today, the plant sits as a rusting reminder of the worst industrial accident in history. Lindalee Tracey and Peter Raymont's Bhopal: The Search for Justice presents the story of journalist Rajkumar Keswani and other determined investigators, who vow that "good science is the only route to justice," while also urging the leaders of India and America, along with Dow Chemical (which acquired Union Carbide), to revisit the 1989 legal settlement that closed the book on the Bhopal case. Keswani claims the actual number of dead was much higher than the official estimate of 3,800, and that the passage of time has revealed a dramatic increase in birth defects, a consequence not adequately addressed in 1989. While the initial compensation of $470 million was welcomed by the people of India as an aid to agriculture and a source of jobs, many now bitterly compare the corporate negligence to political terrorism (the events of 9/11 have also pointed out the need for greater disaster and evacuation planning, as well as the necessity of locating chemical plants away from villages). The documentary follows Keswani from Bhopal to Canada to America as he interviews victims, activists, and scientists, and concludes that there may be more Bhopals in the future. Timely, thoughtful, and hard-hitting (with some graphic images), this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (S. Rees)