Days before the 25th anniversary of the Bhopal chemical disaster, a new report released by the Bhopal Medical Appeal (BMA) and the local Sambhavna clinic demonstrates that there are still high levels of toxic chemicals in the drinking water supply in 15 communities near the old Union Carbide pesticide plant, according to a press release issued by the International Campaign For Justice In Bhopal.

The new report: “Analysis of Chemical Contaminants in Groundwater of Communities Surrounding UCIL Plant Site in Bhopal” will be released at midnight EST on Tuesday, December 1 on www.bhopal.org and www.studentsforbhopal.org. This analysis, which includes testing results from as recently as June 2009, demonstrates that the water in and around the Union Carbide factory site in Bhopal still contains extremely unsafe levels of carbon tetrachloride and other persistent organic pollutants, solvents, nickel and other heavy metals, according to the release. Not surprisingly, the populations in the areas surveyed have high rates of birth defects, rapidly rising cancer rates, neurological damage, chaotic menstrual cycles and mental illness, according to the release.

The report was sponsored by the Bhopal Medical Appeal, a UK-based nonprofit; and the Sambhavna Trust Clinic in Bhopal, the only place that offers free treatment to those suffering from both the 1984 chemical gas disaster and the present day water poisoning.

In addition to this report being released on Tuesday, December 1, hundreds of supporters around the world will be participating in an International Day of Action on Thursday, December 3. Bhopal survivors are calling on supporters to commemorate the night in 1984 when twenty-seven tons of lethal gases leaked from Union Carbide’s pesticide factory, immediately killing 8,000 people and poisoning thousands of others. The area was never cleaned up and over 150,000 people, including children of survivors, are suffering tremendously as a result, according to the press release.

The Day of Action on December 3 will include mass rallies, symbolic “die-ins”, candle-lit vigils, concerts, protests and more. More than 100 actions are being planned around the globe, from Bhopal to London, and San Francisco to Tel Aviv.

Human rights, legal, environmental health and other experts are demanding that Dow Chemical, the current owner of Union Carbide, and the Indian Government, be held accountable for this atrocity. Specifically the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal is demanding that:

• The Indian government clean up Bhopal now to prevent further spread of the toxins, and use the courts to get reimbursed by Dow.
• Dow’s subsidiary, Union Carbide, show up in court to face trial in the ongoing criminal proceedings against them in India.
• The Indian Government establish the “empowered commission” that they promised in August 2008 to address the health, environmental, social, and economic issues in Bhopal.
• The Indian Government finish building pipelines to bring clean water to the people in and around Bhopal immediately.