Bhopal: A Continuing Tragedy >> What Happened >> Consequences

Consequences

          The immediate things that happened in succession to the gas leakage is that the people who were around in Bhopal at the time of the unfortunate incident started experiencing early eye cataracts, loss of vision, and weaker limbs, and problems regarding their ability to work, and the amount of endurance they had.

          Around the Union Carbide factory, now owned by Dow Chemical Company, the land was, and still is also contaminated. As Bhopal's land is polluted, all of the water in Bhopal, and underground in it, has come into contact with the toxins, and has now become hazardous as a result. Testing revealed that the gas methyl isocyanate raised mercury levels in water of Bhopal by up to six million times the normal amount.

         As the majority of Bhopal is a poor civilian population, and mostly uneducated, before told otherwise, they didn't realize the consequences of using the contaminated water in their daily lives. As the water was, and still is (because the people have no other source of water) impure, the people re-infect themselves each time they come into contact with the water.

          Several of the effects became apparent only after a period of time. One thing that is a result of the contamination in many children is birth defects and other problems caused by the toxins of the released gas. Fifty percent of pregnant women give birth to children who either died within a few minutes of birth or had serious birth defects including cleft lip or cleft palate, three eyes, polydactyly, and Down syndrome. The gasses have many other horrible effects on the victims as well, besides causing birth defects and reproductive disorders in children. It has come to be known that they have caused many diseases and psychological disorders too. Residents of the city are still are constantly diagnosed with cancers, nervous disorders, retardation, and much more. Some of the victims cannot even move, and rely on their family members to take care of them. Over 50,000 people in Bhopal are unable to work, and many are lucky enough to have family left, barely being able to survive on their own. Another problem due to the water is that when combined with trichloroethylene, which is a common circumstance, is that the water causes cancer, brain damage, and is also a factor of the birth defects. A hemoglobin test also revealed that only 5% of children had normal hemoglobin levels.

“The inevitable consequence of poverty is dependence.”

-Samuel Johnston