08 October 2012
Organisers of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow are under fire for failing to blacklist the US chemical giant linked to one of the world’s worst industrial accidents at Bhopal in India.
Bhopal survivors, MSPs and environmental campaigners are angry that the Games’ organising committee has refused to rule out any association with the Dow Chemical Company. The company’s high-prolife sponsorship of the London Olympics this summer generated fierce controversy.
The Commonwealth Games are seeking £100 million of commercial revenue from sponsorship, broadcast rights, ticketing and merchandise. They have already signed deals with some sponsors, including the power company, Scottish and Southern Energy and the computer manufacturers, Dell, but are looking for more
The Bhopal disaster began shortly after midnight on 3 December 1984 when the highly toxic gas, methyl isocyanate, leaked from a tank at a pesticide plant and killed thousands of people. The regional government put the immediate death toll at 3,787.
Local people say the real number was more like 8,000. In the years since, they say, another 25,000 have died from chronic diseases caused by the contamination, though this is disputed.
At the time of the accident, the plant was owned by the US company, Union Carbide. In 2001, Union Carbide was bought by Dow, and since then the company has become the target of Bhopal campaigners - though it protests its innocence.
Campaigners say there are still 10,000 tonnes of toxic waste at the pesticide plant, polluting the groundwater and causing illness. “Dow should take on Union Carbide’s responsibilities,” said Balkrishna Namdev, from the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal.
“They must clean up the waste that is left and contaminating drinking water. The international community should boycott and blacklist Dow until they take full responsibility.”
The company should not have been part of the London Olympics and should be thrown out of all future games, he argued. “Scotland can take a stand and keep them out of the Commonwealth games altogether.”
Namdev has just completed a campaigning tour of the UK, including a meeting in the Scottish Parliament. He was accompanied by 19-year-old Safreen Khan, from Children Against Dow Carbide.
“My Dad has heart problems from inhaling the gas, and my Mum has problems with her eyes,” she said. “Please boycott Dow which is responsible for this.”
Eurig Scandrett, from Scottish Friends of Bhopal, described the London Olympics as an “ethical quagmire” because of their association with Dow and other companies. He called on the Commonwealth Games minister in Scotland, Shona Robison, to avoid the same mistakes.
The campaign for a boycott has been backed by Labour MSP, Sarah Boyack, who chairs the Scottish Parliament’s Cross Party Group on International Development. “It's shocking that 28 years on from the Bhopal disaster, the fight for justice for the survivors still continues,” she said.
“I believe it would be totally inappropriate for the Commonwealth Games to take sponsorship from Dow. The games will be a fantastic celebration of sport across the Commonwealth and Bhopal survivors should be able to enjoy them without seeing sponsorship by Dow.”
The Green MSP, Alison Johnstone, agreed. “The Olympics shouldn’t have touched Dow with a bargepole given their inherited responsibility for the toxic legacy in Bhopal,” she said. “Glasgow 2014 cannot afford to repeat that mistake.”
The Scottish government stressed that commercial sponsorship was a matter for the games’ organising committee. “Legal and ethical considerations are always factored into decisions around potential commercial partners for Glasgow 2014,” said a government spokesman.
A spokeswoman for the Glasgow 2014 organisers refused to rule out an association with Dow. "We will seek to engage commercial partners across a range of sponsorship categories,” she said. “We consider a number of factors to ensure they are fit for purpose”
Dow insisted that it had no current involvement in the Commonwealth Games. “Of course we have reviewed this, but no involvement is planned,” said the company’s crisis communications director in Europe, Walter van het Hof.
“Since we are an Olympic partner, a lot of our efforts are going into that direction. In 2014 we will be focused on the Sochi Olympic Winter Games.”
Dow has previously argued that it should not be held responsible for the “terrible tragedy” of Bhopal. It has pointed out that it never owned or operated the plant that leaked, and took over Union Carbide ten years after a $470 million settlement was approved by the Indian Supreme Court.
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